Tribal clashes in central Iraq kill eight, security official says

Tribal clashes over agricultural land in central Iraq have killed eight people and injured another nine, a security official in Wasit province says.

The dispute broke out early in the morning in the village of Kheshan between members of a Bedouin tribe, the official says, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

“Eight people were killed and another nine injured,” the official says, adding they were all involved in the fighting.

Security forces have surrounded the area, though skirmishes have not yet ceased.

Tribal feuds are common in Iraq, a war-scarred country awash with weapons where petty rows can turn into deadly clashes.

Tribes wield significant influence and often operate under their own moral and judicial codes, and they possess huge caches of arms.

Iraq has only recently begun to regain a sense of stability after decades of violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.